Introduction: In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about how difficult it can be finding information about an ancestor who was committed to an asylum (i.e., state hospital)—and how using old newspapers can help. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” When I look at the latter years of... (Read More)
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary provides another fun quiz to test your knowledge of terms used in old newspapers to describe our ancestors’ diseases and medical conditions—and then provides illustrated definitions of those terms. Here is the 18th century... (Read More)
Did you ever wonder why your ancestors had the first names they did? Were they old names used over generations in the family, or does your family history have some names that seemingly were random with no obvious family connection? It might be that your family chose a name because it was the name... (Read More)
Have you tried a genetic DNA study as an approach to learning more about your family history? If so, have you made family connections that you wouldn’t have found otherwise? It is essential that you participate in a DNA study as soon as possible. Doing so will save time, and give you a clearer... (Read More)
In this article, Scott Phillips hears some interesting family stories from his 93-year-old mother and digs into old newspapers to learn more... (Read More)
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena writes about the challenge of locating your ancestor’s burial place—and explains how to find out if a cemetery has been moved. Most genealogy articles written about cemeteries focus on how to find your... (Read More)
What do you know about your ancestors from Éire? Are you as cute as the fox of Ballybotherem? Put your Irish ancestry prowess to the test. Take this Irish trivia quiz and provide answers to these 10 questions about Irish family history, counties in Ireland and other fun facts about the Old Country now!... (Read More)